Man After Midnight
by Rowen Hashiba Of Tenku Co
Summary: Song-Fic. What Happens When Takeru Is In A Car Accident. Stars Hikari.


Man After Midnight  
Subtitled: "The Really Tough Stuff"  
A Digimon Zero Two Song-Fic  
Starring Hikari  
By Spirit02 (Hikari's Guardian Angel)  
  
  
PART ONE  
Half past twelve, And I'm watching the late show in my flat all alone,  
How I hate to spend the evening on my own.  
Hard time wins, Lurking outside the window as I look around the room,  
And it makes me so depressed to see the gloom.  
  
Standing on the curb by his house, she looks out at where he lives, in the apartment building nearby her own.  
She begins to cry, sobbing hard as she feels a hand upon her shoulder.  
"Huh?" She asks. The older boy behind her is also trying to keep from crying.  
"Don't worry, Hikari, it's only me." He says, his voice strained with emotion.  
"Any word?" She asks him, her ruby eyes wide with fear and concern.  
"Only that he's still alive. Yamato's beside himself. When I told him he went ballistic and blew off his band practice completely." He replies, his eyes on his younger sister, the wind blowing the corners of his blue coat.  
Hikari's sobs return, harder now, as she presses her face against her brother's chest as he holds her.  
Later on she gets up the strength to go and see him. She gasps as she sees him, bandages covering most of his body, life support machines hooked up. The doctors stand around solemly, as though there was no hope left.  
"Takeru wouldn't want you to be so sad.." Taichi Kamiya tells his younger sister, wiping the tears from her face.  
Daisuke Motimiya, Miyako Inoue, and Iori Hida are already there.  
"The doctors are saying he might not make it." The voice comes from the corner opposite them, a low monotone of someone who is trying not to show the emotions he is feeling. Takeru's brother, Yamato Ishida.  
The pale blonde on the hospital bed is Takeru Takaishi, the Digidestined of Hope. They know that he would not want them to despair.  
"What happened to him?" Iori asks, tone concerned.  
"DUI. Some driver hit him." Sora Takenouchi replies, not bothering to check her language.  
"I'm sorry." Iori says to Yamato, who nods with a forced grin. And boy, is it forced.  
"It's alright, Iori."  
"I'm sure he'll be okay." Miyako says, trying to break the depression that hung over their heads like a cloud.  
"Man, I never thought something like this would happen to Takeru!" Daisuke says, his voice displaying true concern, despite the pair's deadly rivalry.  
"What do you care? You hated him!" Hikari snaps at Daisuke.  
"Sorry!" Daisuke says.  
"I'm sorry, Dai, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." She replies quietly, "It's just... He's my best friend."  
"I know." Taichi says, his tone lower than usual, weighed down in sadness.  
"Takeru wouldn't want us all hanging around waiting for a miracle that isn't coming." Yamato says suddenly, one hand gripped in a fist to keep from crying, "He would want us to just move on."  
"I've got to go anyway.." Miyako says, "Say hi to Takeru when he wakes up for me, okay?"  
"Sure thing, Miya." Hikari tells the purple-haired girl as she walks away.  
"I've got Kendo practice, but I'll come back soon and visit." Iori says, his head lowered as he leaves.  
Hikari moves to a seat next to the hospital bed and grips Takeru's pale hand, oblivious to the slight trickle of blood that is getting onto her hand.  
About three hours later, the only people in the room are Hikari, Yamato, Daisuke, and Takeru (of course!). Daisuke has fallen asleep in his chair, as has Yamato.  
Hikari strokes Takeru's blonde hair, whispering to him, telling him it will be all right, even though she knows that it won't. They all know that this won't be forgotten, ever.  
"Takeru, please wake up soon... For Yamato, and the others, and your family.... And.... And for me.." She whispers, her tone soft as the wind blowing in the night, her eyes as bright with hope as the full moon that lit the room dimly through the open window.  
The next morning Takeru's mother and father showed up.  
Yamato attempts a smile when he sees his father, but fails and ends up with a frown that makes him look as though he might cry.  
"How is he?" Nancy Takaishi asks her oldest son, Yamato Ishida.  
Yamato looks at his younger brother and sighs.  
"Not so good."  
"Will he be okay?"  
"I don't know."  
"He'll come out of this?"  
"I said I don't know!" Yamato almost yells, irratible with fear for his beloved younger brother.  
Ms. Takaishi looks hurt, and Yamato is silent.  
"Don't worry, Ms. Takaishi, I'm sure that Takeru will be just fine." Hikari says, nearly glowing with hope. Then again, if they were in the Digital World, she probably would have been glowing.  
"My poor baby.." Ms. Takaishi says, kissing Takeru's pale forehead gently.  
Yamato watches silently, an expression part sadness and part anger alighting on his features.  
Yamato and Takeru's father was also silent, not wanting to interfere.  
That's about when the trouble began.  
  
  
PART TWO  
Movie stars, At the end of the rainbow, With that fortune to win,  
It's so different from the world I'm living in.  
Tied up TV, I open up the window and I gaze into the night,  
But there's nothing there to see no one in sight.  
  
Hikari Kamiya stands on the balcony of her family's apartment, staring out toward the city lights, and the hospital where her best friend was.  
"Come on in, Hikari." Her brother Taichi says, standing in the doorway of the glass sliding door, his tone sympathetic. He had never lost his best friend, but back when they hadn't been friends he had come close.  
It was Taichi's best friend's brother who was in the hospital, and it took a lot for Taichi to accept it. Taichi's best friend, even though he would never admit it, is Yamato Ishida, older brother to Takeru Takaishi, who was in an accident involving a drunk driver and was in a coma.  
"Taichi, why couldn't I stay with Takeru?" Comes Hikari's reply, her voice straining as she trys not to cry.  
"His parents and Yamato are already there with him... Yamato will tell us if anything happens." Taichi reassures her, his hand on her shoulder.  
"Oh, yeah... Yama-chan." She says quietly. Her eyes are red from lack of sleep and constant crying, and her hand trembles even as she grips the railing.  
"Yeah, Hikari. It'll be okay, you'll see." Taichi says, keeping his hopes high.  
The next day, Hikari was back at Takeru's side, of course, because his parents had to go to work, although Yamato was still there.  
"He'll be okay, won't he, Yama-chan?" She asks him, and he winces at the use of the all-too-familiar-for-his-liking nickname.  
"Of course! It's only been two days, Hikari! Don't worry." Yamato remarks in forced enthusiasm, then in a lower tone, "I hope.."  
"That's all that Takeru would want." Hikari replies.  
" ... Why did that guy have to drink that night? Why did he drive? Why Takeru? Why?" Yamato says to himself, asking the questions that only God himself can answer.  
"Don't worry, Yama-chan," Yamato winced again at the nickname she used, "Takeru will be fine and everything will be okay again."  
"I sure hope so..."  
"Trust me."  
"Always."  
Hikari holds Takeru's hand and uses her other hand to smooth down his unruly honey-blonde hair, wishing desperately all the while that he would open those bright azure eyes once again, and soon.  
Yamato watches her, how caring and gentle she was, and his mouth forms a ghost of a smile.  
"Come on, pull through, Takeru.." Yamato whispers, a single tear sliding down his cheek.  
Two more days later, and Yamato, Hikari, Taichi, and Daisuke were with Takeru yet again. Yamato had been staying at the hospital since it happened, and Hikari had visited every day and stayed until dark, when Taichi would pick her up in his new car, and she would call Daisuke at eight every night.  
"When will he wake up, you s'pose?" Taichi asks, trying to hide concern with casual words.  
"Soon, I hope." Hikari says, her voice light.  
"Jeez I hope he'll be okay!" Daisuke says, "I know I never really said it but he is my friend and I care about him!"  
"Daisuke, that's sweet. Of course he'll be okay." Hikari pauses in her statement and smiles, "If only to hear you say that out loud."  
Daisuke laughs, as does Taichi, although both of them know that none of them can truly be happy when their friend lies broken like this.  
"I really hope you're right, Hikari, because this whole thing is bothering me." Daisuke replies.  
Suddenly, something happens. Hikari looks at Takeru suddenly, feeling a small movement of his hand as she holds it.  
Slowly his indigo eyes open, the bright color dim with pain, and he smiles slightly at Hikari, his eyes bright.  
"Takeru!" Yamato hugs his younger brother gently, surprised and happy at the recovery.  
Takeru looks around the room, moving his head ever so slightly as he does so, and smiles wider as he sees his friends and brother around him.  
"Hikari, Yamato, Taichi, Daisuke.." Takeru says the names as though he had only just remembered the names of people he had met melleniums ago.  
"You're alright!" Hikari hugs him, and through his distorted senses he smells the scent of her lilac perfume as she leans in close, but she is gentle about it.  
"Hey, good thing you're awake. I was about ready to take you to the morgue!" Taichi remarks, his tone casual, although real true relief from a week of concern lied underneath the statement.  
Daisuke walks forward, his mouth curved into a sad smile.  
"I'm glad.... That you're okay....." Daisuke says, pure compassion and concern entering into his tone, "I'm sorry, about all those times... Before...." Daisuke feels like he cannot continue speaking.  
"I understand." Takeru tells him, "I want to be friends too."  
  
  
PART THREE  
There's not a soul out there, No one to hear my prayer.  
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight,  
Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away.  
  
Takeru is sitting up in his hospital bed, two days later. Everyone has visited him now, and his room is over-flowed with flowers and gifts and cards.  
"Thanks, you guys." He says softly to the assembled Digidestined.  
Yamato still hasn't left the hospital, and watches over Takeru constantly.  
The others had come and gone, but he had stayed, because he felt that it was his responsibility.  
The whole group is there, Hikari, Taichi, Daisuke, Iori, Miyako, Sora, Mimi, Yamato (of course), Joe, and Koushirou (Izzy).  
Another day later, at eight in the morning, the phone rings at the Kamiya residence. Hikari picks up.  
"Moshi-moshi?" Hikari asks.  
"Hikari? It's Yamato." The guy on the other end says.  
"What's wrong?" Hikari asks, sensing the urgency in his tone.  
"Takeru relapsed." Is all that Yamato says, hanging up.  
"Taichi I'm going to go see Takeru!" Hikari shouts to her older brother.  
"Hikari what's wrong?" Taichi asks, but when he looks, Hikari is already out the door.  
Upon reaching the hospital, Hikari goes immediately to Takeru's room, where the fair-haired boy lays on the hospital bed, eyes closed, the life support machines hooked up again.  
Yamato looks aweful, too, his blonde hair disheveled, blue eyes dull from lack of sleep, but he manages a small forced grin when Hikari comes in.  
"Will he be okay?" Hikari asks Yamato, trying not to cry.  
"I don't know... The doctor's are saying maybe not." Yamato replies.  
"Sad news, Yama-chan... Don't worry, Takeru will pull through, he's a strong person." Hikari tries to reassure him, also trying to reassure herself.  
"Yeh. He's got to pull through." Yamato says, his voice wavering slightly.  
Hikari puts her hand on his shoulder, but neither take their eyes off of the sleeping Takaishi boy.  
Later, when Hikari had dragged Yamato out to lunch, Daisuke comes in and sits by the bed.  
"Takeru, please say you hear me. I want to be friends. You can't go out now. Too many people care about you for you to go." Daisuke mutters to the sleeping boy, "I want to be friends, but we can't be friends if you don't come out of this. No death in our team, right?"  
A tear slides down Daisuke's right cheek, leaving a soft trail down the side of his face.  
"I wanna be friends too, Dai-san." Takeru whispers hoarsely, his eyes only just opened, "No death in our team, Dai. No death. I'm not gonna go now."  
Then the fair-haired boy drifted back into sleep, and Dai looked down at the soft face, the lips just barely upturned in a contented half-smile.  
But by the time Hikari and Yamato come back, Daisuke is gone.  
  
  
PART FOUR  
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight,  
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day.  
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight.  
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight.  
- "Man After Midnight" by A-Teens  
  
Four days later, a great many of the people surrounding Takeru have lost all hope. Except for the Digidestined, who know that losing hope is the last thing that Takeru would want them to do, who know what his Crest is all about, and who know that he won't give up without a fight.  
"It's been almost two weeks. But, I think he'll be okay." Joe comments, trying to look on the bright side; which, by the way, he isn't so good at.  
"I hope so." Iori puts in, giving a sidelong glance in Hikari's general direction, where she's holding Takeru's hand and attempting not to cry, "At least for her sake."  
"Yeah. She really cares about him." Izzy says, his tone even, though his eyes wander to the hospital bed, where his old friend lies.  
Hikari suddenly feels Takeru's hand move to grasp hers.  
"Takeru, you're awake!" Hikari shouts, hugging him gently.  
"I'll be okay." Takeru says to her, then to Dai, "I told you, no death in our team."  
"Absolutely." Dai replies, smiling widely.  
Hikari and the others look at them, confused.  
"Don't ask." Takeru and Dai say at the same time.  
Taichi's mouth falls open, his eyes wide.  
"So, you guys are friends now, right?" Hikari asks, casually pushing her older brother's mouth shut.  
"Yeh." Says Daisuke, shrugging.  
"Uh-huh." Takeru replies, smiling.  
Hikari smiles and walks over to Daisuke.  
Then she kisses him, right on the lips.  
"I never want to see that again." Says Taichi quietly to Yamato.  
"Neither do I." Yamato replies.  
Daisuke falls over, unconscious and in shock, and Miyako starts laughing.  
Most of the others are too confused to even speak.  
"Well, that was unexpected." I say, shrugging a bit. Hikari looks at me.  
"Have you been here the whole time?" She asks. I nod.  
"That's my job." I tell her quietly.  
"You're a little like Obi-Wan Kenobi, aren't you?" Taichi asks me. I nod again.  
"Yeah, right." I say.  
"So you were here that WHOLE time?" Yamato asks.  
"Yeah. I saw it all." I say, "I'm writing a story about it, too."  
  
=END=  
  
EPILOGUE  
I'm happy to report that Takeru is just fine now. It's been two months since the incident, and the others are still uneasy around me, because of how I kept my silence that entire time and no one noticed me except for Izzy, who later remarked to me that he had known I was there the whole time.  
Daisuke and Hikari are going out, and I feel like a little bit of a third wheel (Dai and Hikari are my best friends and often invite me to come with them), but that's okay, because I'm just happy that Daisuke finally got what he wanted, which is a chance at Hikari.  
Yamato is recovered also, mainly from malnourishment and lack of sleep (he slept for four days after that) and is back with his band, which is still very successful.  
Taichi finally got his mouth closed after the kissing thing back there, and he and Sora are going out.  
Mimi returned to America last week, with the promise to keep in touch.  
Joe is still studying to be a doctor, and last I knew of him he was accepted at very prominent medical school.  
Takeru and Iori became very good friends, and last I heard Iori was teaching Takeru Kendo, while Takeru taught Iori how to have fun.  
Miyako opened an after-school-hours-only computer repair service, and is making some money at it too.  
And me, I'm still helping Izzy on that program he is working on. Not that much has changed for me, despite everything that happened to everyone else.  
I still think that Izzy is one of my best friends, and I still have a hard time standing Miyako's incessant whining.  
So, I guess I'm just the same no matter what happens to me. I'll always be myself, so what have a got to lose?  
  
=TRUE END=  
  
P.S. Can you guess who the narrator is? (Hint: The only Digidestined NOT mentioned)  
  
DISCLAIMER:  
I don't own A-Teens "Abba Generation" or any of the songs. I also don't own Digimon 02 or otherwise. Heh, guess that pretty much wraps it up, right? (Daisuke: Just end it already!) Okay, okay. See you next time.  
-Spirit02 (Hikari's Guardian Angel) 


End file.
